She’b al-Batem, Masafer Yatta: Israeli settler enters Palestinian olive grove with flock

Sometime during the week of 20 to 27 November 2022, two settlers led a flock of about 60 sheep through an olive grove and plowed fields belonging to Muhammad al-Jabarin (47), in the community of She’b al-Batem in the South Hebron Hills. The sheep, which were led through the area both in the morning and in the evening, trampled the plowed fields.

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Israel’s regime of apartheid and occupation is inextricably bound up in human rights violations. B’Tselem strives to end this regime, as that is the only way forward to a future in which human rights, democracy, liberty and equality are ensured to all people, both Palestinian and Israeli, living between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea.

Since the Hamas attack on 7 October 2023, Israel has acted in a coordinated and deliberate manner to destroy Palestinian society in the Gaza Strip, committing genocide against its residents. In light of Israel’s actions in Gaza, the public statements made by Israeli decision-makers, and the international community’s failure to take effective action, there is a serious risk that the Israeli regime will expand the genocide to other areas under its control—first and foremost, the West Bank.
B’Tselem calls on the Israeli public and the international community to use every tool available under international law to bring an immediate end to Israel’s genocide against the Palestinian people.